Things to Consider

Pet Insurance from John Lewis Finance

Pet Insurance helps with the cost of your pet’s healthcare and wellbeing, and protects you from unexpected vet bills.

Your insurance will usually pay for things like trips to the vet, X-rays, surgical procedures, medication and treatments. Some policies may even cover complementary therapies such as hydrotherapy and treatment foods.

Paying a small amount each month for vet cover means you could be protected from these expenses, while your pet is taken care of.

If your dog causes an accident, injures other people or damages their property, you could be responsible for any expenses. This is why your policy should include third party liability cover as standard. Pet Insurance from John Lewis Finance covers you for up to £3 million (Premier cover) in case of accidents and personal injuries caused by your dog.

Although pet insurance may seem like an unnecessary expense in the short term, you should consider how much your pet could cost you throughout its life.

Before choosing pet insurance, consider how much standard vet bills are in your area, and what estimated costs you could incur for the routine care of your pet.

Vet bills vary greatly across the UK and you could be charged more if your pet needs treatment on a weekend or out of hours.

Here’s an indication of what standard costs can be:

Treatment

Costs

Standard consultation

£25-35

Blood tests

£10 - £120 depending on illness (plus charge for vet's time)

Prescribed course of treatment

£3 - £70 depending on prescription

Emergency out of hours supplement

£30 - £150

Overnight stay

£30 - £50

X-rays

£45 - £55 per X-ray

Chemotherapy

£150 - £5,000 depending on treatment (two months to two years)

Surgery

£1,000 - £2,000

MRI scan

£1,000 - £2,000

These are approximate costs for single treatments. However one accident, such as your pet being hit by a car, could result in injuries which require treatment over a long period of time.

Consider the following questions:

Do I live in an area where my pet may be exposed to particular risks, like busy roads?

If my pet is a pedigree, will he or she have specific health needs?

If you have a pedigree dog or cat, you can use standard pet insurance but you might need a higher level of cover as pedigree breeds can be prone to specific illnesses. Question your breeder about your pet’s pedigree and origins to make sure they’ve been screened for inherited diseases.

How much cover do I need?

We offer three levels of cover for vet’s fees: £3,000, £7,500, and £12,000 per year.

This may sound like a lot of money but vet bills soon mount up if your pet needs ongoing treatment for common problems like diabetes or poor eyesight, or serious diseases like cancer.

We also cover complementary therapy such as chiropractic manipulation, osteopathy, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy treatments for insured conditions carried out by a vet or on the recommendation of a vet.

We can often pay your vet directly so you don’t need to worry about paying up front for treatment. If you have our pet insurance, your vet will also be able to refer your pet to a specialist immediately, without delays over payment.

Pet Insurance covers a lot more than just vet’s fees, but some insurers may charge extra for add-ons. It's worth double checking that you are comparing like-for-like cover when you compare insurance policies.